Colours
by Swirl-O-Whirl
Summary: "Pull up your mask for me?" A four part series based around a simple request. Set in the same universe as the 2003 series with some elements of the current IDW comics and Usagi Yojimbo series mixed in as well.
1. Purple

**A/N: The first in a four part series based around a simple request. Inspired by ruran-art's fanart and mutated-green-things' "Turtle Boyfriends AU" I wrote four one-shots that examines one of the Ninja Turtles relationship with their partner. Set in the same universe as the 2003 series with some elements of the current IDW comics and Usagi Yojimbo series mixed in as well.**

 **Special thanks to my rad sister and beta-reader shewhocollectwatches for giving me advice along the way. All errors are my own; if you spot anything awkward please let me know so that I can improve in my writing.**

 **None of these characters belong to me and I made no money from this. Enjoy!**

* * *

 **Colours Chapter 1: Purple**

"Pull up your mask for me?"

It was an unusual request for the crocodile to give, but Donatello was more than happy to oblige.

"Like this?" the turtle responded, as he pulled up his purple mask with a calm smile.

"Perfect," Leatherhead responded. "Now try these on."

In his large hand the scientist held what appeared to be a small case of some sort. It looked vaguely familiar, but Donatello could not place where he had seen them before. He took the case from Leatherhead's hand and opened it, revealing the item inside and reminding Don why the item looked so familiar.

"Are these contact lenses?"

He recalled Casey's mother had tried to wear contact lenses for a _very_ brief period in time until she decided that she could "Live with her glasses as opposed to these damn nuisances."

"Of a sort."

"LH, I know that I've been complaining about eyestrain recently, but that's probably because I've been spending too much time working rather than an actual problem with my eyes."

The crocodile chuckled.

"I agree with your hypothesis Donatello, which is why I said these are contact lenses 'of a sort'. They were originally contacts, but I modified them."

Now Donatello was curious.

"Modified how exactly?"

The crocodile smiled, he knew the turtle was anxious to discover the truth.

"I believe the best answer would be to 'show' you rather than just tell you."

"Well," Donatello said, picking up the contacts, "let's get started then."

Having never needed contacts before, the turtle admitted that the process was more frustrating than he originally anticipated, and could sympathize with Mrs. Jones for choosing to wear her glasses instead. Once in his eyes Leatherhead walked across the room towards the light-switch.

"Are you ready?" he asked.

"You know it," Don replied.

And with that confirmation the switch was flipped and the room went dark. Or at least it _should_ have gotten dark. From Don's perspective to room looked, for lack of a better word, normal. He could still see his surroundings perfectly well as he could seconds ago.

"Well? What do you think?"

Don turned his head towards his partner, who was still standing next to the light switch, hands folded in front of his chest as if he was waiting anxiously for a response. And that's when it hit him.

"Did you make night vision contacts?"

The crocodile smiled and his eyes crinkled with unabashed happiness. Don loved it when he smiled like that.

"Then they work?"

Donatello walked towards Leatherhead maneuvering past the coffee table and workbench that separated the couple from each other. When he reached his partners side and switched the lights back on.

"Perfectly," he said, with a large grin of his own.

"Good. I have not been able to run any conclusive tests on them since my night vision is already superior to yours to begin with, so I was worried about the success of this prototype model."

"Good? It's amazing! I have to say, you're really outdone yourself this time LH."

And it was true, he was always fascinated at the capacities that his best friend and partner had as a scientist; he was such a creative mind and was very anxious at showcasing his own projects. Like right now for example, even after creating such a marvelous feat, Leatherhead just looked a perfect mixture of bashful and proud.

"I just have one question though," Donatello queried.

The crocodile blinked with curiosity.

"And that is?"

"You do realize that when I said I was thinking of making 'night vision glasses' to replace our older, clunkier goggles I was just joking right?" The question was half serious and half in good humour, which Don emphasized by raising an eyebrow in an over-dramatic fashion.

His partner laughed again.

"I am aware of that Donatello, which is why I wanted to make them. After all it is your birthday so why not make something that would _really_ surprise you? Besides, they are a practical gift, and you did say you prefer something practical."

Now it was the turtle's turn to laugh, a light but still hearty chuckle. Then he smiled stood up on the tips of his toes.

"Thank you for this, Leatherhead, it's a wonderful gift."

And with that he kissed his boyfriend on the nose.

"Happy Birthday Donatello."


	2. Red

**Chapter 2: Red**

Raphael was in a bad mood. This was not unusual as the turtle was well-known for his surly attitude and hair-thin temper. But today was very different because, as far as Traximus could tell, there was no reason for his partner to be angry. Or at least, none that he was aware of.

He tried to think back on the previous events of the day, which was admittedly not much since today was not a work day for the triceraton and the two had decided to have a "lazy weekend", as Earthlings seemed to call it, of rest and relaxation. They woke up late, enjoyed a late breakfast together, and then had a brief discussion regarding what they wanted to do that day. They had decided to just relax at home and work on the finishing touches of a modified motorcycle that Raph had brought with him from Earth. The finishing touches would allow the vehicle to hover, similarly to bikes created on the rest of the planet, but to be structurally similar to those found on Earth.

Nothing from those events seemed to be particularly stressful or aggravating to Traximus so he thought forward to what they did next. After the dishes from breakfast had been cleaned and put away, Traximus had decided to set up the garage for their upcoming task, while Raphael went to check his universal communicator for any messages from far-flung family. It always impressed him how one family could be all across the multiverse and galaxy, but still managed to stay in such close contact. But then, for many years, he had no family of his own so perhaps he had just forgotten the importance a simple "Hello" from a loved one had in brightening ones day.

And yet, it seemed that Raphael had been annoyed after he had entered the garage some minutes later. Had someone wrote something that had angered or upset the terrapin? He briefly considered the possibility that someone was ill, but he dismissed the thought since he knew Raph well enough that his husband would have brought the topic up right away.

So with his potential source of the problem found the only issue now was how to address the problem. Traximus looked up from the motorcycle he had been working on the see his partner. Raphael had begun muttering to himself and scowled at his prized bike as if it had personally insulted him. Traximus sighed, put down his tools and stood up to his full height.

"Raphael?"

At the sound of his voice, Raphael had stopped his muttering and scowling as if snapped out of trance. He looked up from his work and noticed Traximus looking directly at him. The turtle stood and crossed his arms.

"What? Something wrong?"

"I was about to ask you the same thing actually."

At this comment Raphael flinched. He bound his arms closely to his chest and turned away from Traximus. Now the triceraton was really concerned.

"Why? Something the matter with me?"

"There is nothing 'the matter' with you Raphael. I am just concerned. Is there something going on with you family?"

Now the turtle's expression changed from anger to confusion.

"My family? What about them?"

It appeared that he needed to provide further context.

"You have been in poor spirits ever since you came down from checking your messages. I thought something had happened at home, and assumed that something was wrong."

Now the turtle looked concerned.

"No, no don't worry! Everyone's good, honest!" He waved his arms downwards as if to reassure Traximus, as if he was the one who needed to be calmed.

"That's good to hear, but that doesn't answer my question. Why are you upset Raphael?"

There was a pause. Raphael clenched his fists, his arms hanging downwards, and looked towards the ground. Finally the turtle took a deep breath and looked into Traximus's eyes.

"It's our anniversary," he said, though his voice was so quiet it might as well had been a whisper.

The triceraton blinked.

"Is it?"

"YES! IT IS!" Raphael snapped. Traximus was surprised by the outburst but stood where he was.

"Aren't you, I dunno, mad or something?"

"Not really. To be honest," at this Traximus reached behind his head and rubbed the back of his head, "I had forgotten about it until you just brought it up."

Raphael blinked. "Seriously?"

"Seriously."

"No kidding."

"Not at all."

There was another pause and then Raphael spoke again.

"You mean I was freaking out for the past half hour for nothing?"

"Err, that appears to be the case, yes."

His epiphany confirmed Raphael proceeded to bring his hand up to his face, and groaned in frustration.

"I feel like such an asshole."

Traximus began to walk towards his partner.

"Why would you think that?"

"'Cause it's our anniversary! We've been married for like, a year Trax, that's kindof a big deal! And jerkass like me doesn't even remember it until he checks his friggin' calendar, seriously who does that?"

Well, that answered his question, but it didn't help to alleviate his partner's concerns.

"You do realize that you aren't the only one who had forgotten? I did not even remember until you brought it to my attention remember?"

The turtle sighed.

"I know, I know. I guess I just feel like a jerk for asking you to help you with my bike on today of all days."

At this honest admission Traximus was taken aback, once again, by the subtle kindness his partner would display in the most unexpected ways. At this he had a thought.

"Pull up your mask for me?"

The request, understandably, confused the turtle, but he consented to the request, pull his mask down by the two long strands at the end of the mask.

"Why?" grumbled Raphael, his expression a mask of anger, but all Traximus could see was a mixture of confusion and apprehension.

"Because I want to let you know something Raphael. There are only two dates that I consider to be important in my life."

"And those are?"

"The day the Triceraton Republic's oppressive regime came to an end and your birthday."

The terrapin looked shocked at the admission, but before he could comment the alien raised a clawed finger indicating that he still had more to say.

"To me these days are precious; the first day because it meant my fellow Saurians and I would finally be free from Zanramon's oppression, which had stolen so much of my life and freedom when I was a slave. And the second day is special because you are the most important person in my life, Raphael."

After this admission Traximus cupped both of his hands around Raphael's face.

"That's why I promised myself, after the Republic was dissolved, to live each day of my life as though it were special. To me, being free with the man I love and to live it to the fullest, is the most important gift that I could ever ask for. So, no I am not angry with you my love. And I am sorry that you believed I was angry with you."

The turtle blinked a few times, processing what was just said to him. Then he laughed, a great booming laugh. He looked up, his eyes watering, but he had a huge smile on his face.

"Geez Trax. You sure know how to make a guy feel special, you know that?"

"I only speak the truth, my love," Traximus replied at he wiped away Raph's tears.

"You big softy."

They stood like that for a while, until Raphael composed himself.

"So. Now what?"

"Well, there are plenty of hours left in the day. Which means plenty of time to finish this bike of yours. That is, if you'd still like to"

"Are you kidding after all you just said? I _have_ to get this old bucket of bolts working!"

Traximus was confused.

"Oh? You do?"

"Hell yeah! That way we can finally have that race we've always been talking about having!" the turtled replied with a grin.

The triceraton smiled.

"Ah, yes. I have been looking forward to this. Though, I must warn you Raphael. I am known as something as a hover bike expert. I believe you will be, what is that Earth phrase, 'eating my dust' so to speak."

"Ha! You wish Traxi! You talked big at the Battle Nexus too, and I still creamed ya! When this bad boy is up and running, _you're_ gonna be eatin' _my_ dust!"

The turtle went back to his bike, working away on the finishing touches. The triceraton chuckled to himself as he went to grab his own bike, a large grin forming on his face.

"We'll see about that love. We'll see about that."


	3. Blue

**Chapter 3: Blue**

The halls of the Geishu palace were filled with merriment and laughter, as _saké_ flowed into warrior's cups and tales of heroic deeds were spun. Earlier that day several warriors, who held allegiance towards Lord Noriyuki and the Geishu clan, had gathered to protect their lord from the forces Lord Hikiji, who had sought to strike down the young lord on his journey to relay pertinent information to the _shogun_.

Amongst these loyal souls were the lord's most skilled samurai, _ronin_ who had known of Lord Hikiji's grim deeds and wished to spare the young lord from a fate similar to their former masters, and bounty hunters who had chosen to fight for profit and personal gains. One individual however, stood out amongst the ranks of these warriors and he was well aware of this fact.

Leonardo sat outside of the close-knit circle of celebration where his peers laughed and sang, a cup of _saké_ in his hand and an uncomfortable expression on his face. He absently fiddled with the trail ends of his mask, hoping the action would provide him with some comfort as it usually would. Unfortunately the action, while soothing, was not enough to calm the ninja's nerves.

The turtle sighed. He knew he did not belong in the company of these warriors, it was as obvious to anyone. For starters he did not even belong to this realm. In many ways he wished he was born to this place, a world where he would not be rejected and despised simply because he was a five foot tall talking turtle, and where he could live away from the oppressive sensations that the New York landscape would cause his senses of sound, sight and smell. But, the fact remained that he was very much a turtle of New York, and he could not change the circumstances where he was mutated and raised, nor would he wish it as that would mean he would lose his family and friends who he loved very dearly. And besides, even if he did live in this world there was one fact that would truly make him an outsider; he was a ninja.

In this world, much like the feudal Japan of his own dimension's past, ninja were viewed as the lowest of warriors, viewed with disgust and distrust by all who encountered them. They were assassins, spies, and betrayers, who only cared for themselves in order to survive. While Leo did not enjoy this assessment he could still empathize with the people who did believe that ninja were only capable of murder and deceit. After all, for every honourable ninja Leonardo had personally encountered the Shredder and the Foot clan had showcased that ninja could be amongst the lowest moral caliber in the battlefield.

Knowing that his presence was not welcomed by all, Leo had decided to stay in the shadows throughout the course of the mission, watching from the treetops and mountain ranges above the central party with Lord Noriyuki's own employed ninja, and hoping that the worst would not come to pass for the young panda and their samurai companions. Of course, as was often the case in the turtle's experience, the worse did happen and an ambush was strategically enacted alongside the mountain pass. If the attack had been successful the ambushers could have made the entire incident look like an accident; the result of summer mudslides rather than pre-meditated assassination.

Fortunately, having forces on the higher and lower ground meant that Lord Noriyuki's forces were able to surround the enemy with minimal casualties, though the battle was long drawn out and exhausting for all. Leonardo could not help but replay the battle in his mind's eye, calculating where he could have improved the results of the skirmish, considering the "what ifs" and "if onlys" that came with a conflict's conclusion. Overall, he found that he would have been satisfied with his results had it not been for one particular incident.

The forces employed by Lord Hikiji had begun to pull back, knowing that the outcome of the fight had already been determined, and as a result the warriors under the employ of Lord Noriyuki had begun to lower their guard. This was a foolish mistake, as some of Hikiji's ninja had thrown a barrage of throwing stars to ensure that they would not be followed. In those split seconds Leonardo jumped towards one of the potential targets, bracing himself with his twin _katana_ blades and blocking as many of the _shuriken_ as he possibly could. Once the barrage had ended it was clear that the Lord Noriyuki's warriors had been victorious and all at once the successful party let out whoops and cries of celebration. All except for one.

From behind him he had heard a voice, the voice of the person he was trying to defend, cry out, "Leonardo!"

He turned to face the samurai rabbit, and his best friend, Miyamoto Usagi. The _ronin_ had looked exhausted from the battle but his pink eyes were large with concern.

"Are you alright? You are injured."

He was faintly aware of one of the stars grazing his arm, but it did not matter at the time.

"Leonardo?"

Usagi's voice had sounded more concerned this time, so the turtle decided to brush off his friend's concern.

"Yes I'm fine Usagi. It's just a scratch."

He decided to add a smile to this since it appeared that his words along were not enough to prove his health. He absently went to rub his shoulder but, only noticed then that he had a _ninja_ star in the shoulder, dangerously close to his throat. How had he not noticed that?

Thankfully Usagi was more alert than he was. He called out amongst their party to bring a healer to Leonardo, who made short work of extracting the _shuriken_ and instructing Usagi to keep pressure applied to the wound. Leonardo had very little time to react to all of these events happening between the adrenaline leaving his system and the exhaustion of the battle replacing it. He could not believe he could have made such a careless mistake; he could have been seriously injured, then what would have happened.

The rabbit _ronin_ looked up into the turtle's eyes, concern still present but gradually being replaced with a fond expression.

"We need to be more careful. I would hate to lose a dear friend due to my own negligence."

And at that moment, Leo knew he was in trouble. And at that moment, Leo knew he was in trouble. He knew fully well why he had made such a reckless decision and it was not because he viewed Usagi as a mere comrade in arms. He acted the way he did because he was in love with this samurai, and there was no way he could change those feelings. He had tried to temper down his foolish hopes, that perhaps Usagi loved him too, but he knew it was impossible. They were literally from two separate worlds, and Usagi was just as likely to abandon his world as Leo was able to turn away from his own. And, more importantly, Leo knew that Usagi did not know the whole story behind who he was, why his family and Leatherhead were the only creatures similar to the people of Usagi's world, and why they all had to stay in the shadows every time the rabbit visited their dimension. Donnie had begun to explain it once, but Leo was not sure how detailed that explanation was given that they were trying to fight off a boar assassin at the same time.

The turtle sighed and then took a deep breath. He resolved to take on that particular challenge soon. Whether Usagi felt the same was as he did was of little consequence in the grand scheme of friends. They could still remain friends, Leo would get over his crush and then they could move on like nothing had ever happened. It was the best course of action for both of them. But for now, he had a completely different issue at hand: this party.

Leonardo would be the first to admit that he was not a particularly extroverted turtle in comparison to his brothers. In his opinion his idea of a relaxing evening was to enjoy a good book while listening to some classical music, or perfecting his _katas_ and spiritual training. If his brothers had their way though, they would probably spend the evenings chatting with people and socializing to their hearts content. Leo could not find how such event could be relaxing, if anything the atmosphere of the party had proved to be even more exhausting to him then the battle had been. Still, it would have been extremely rude not to attend the party so Leonardo had decided to just wait out the party until it had been appropriate for him to leave.

From the corner of his eye the turtle noticed something move which turned his attention towards the circle of samurai. Usagi smiled towards the ninja, then pointed towards the sliding doors leading towards the palace gardens. Leo returned the smile and nodded in agreement. He got up carefully, the wound to his shoulder had not been deep but still stun when he moved his arm, and maneuvered around the company of intoxicated warriors without trying to draw attention to himself.

Soon he was in the garden and almost instantly the stress of the party had begun to fade away. The cool summer breeze, combined with the smells of the evening air, had been just what he needed after spending an evening awkwardly sitting around in a room that looked, smelled and felt like it was occupied by samurai with too much drink in them. He heard the faint crunch of sandal on stone, and turned to face his friend. It looked like Usagi was also exhausted from the party rather than refreshed by it, and that the plan had been mutually beneficial.

"How is your shoulder?" the rabbit asked.

Leonardo moved his arm to demonstrate that he was able to move it more than he had been able to earlier, but not too much to aggravate his wound.

"Much better, thanks to your quick thinking."

"Good. I am glad it was not as bad as it looked. I feared you had been struck in the neck."

Leonardo had honestly not considered that, but then he realized that Usagi's perspective had probably been limited due to their height differences and positions while fighting.

"Yeah, well I'm glad it didn't. That would have been awkward to explain to my brothers."

Thankfully the rabbit had noticed that Leo had only been joking when he said that and chuckled at the comment. They walked around the garden in silence, enjoying the tranquil sounds of the water of the pond, the wind through the plants and their own feet brushing against the ground. The hush continued until Usagi paused for a moment.

"Leonardo- _san_?"

The turtle turned towards his friend again.

"What is it Usagi?"

The rabbit closed his eyes and inhaled through his nose. He then muttered something under his breath before looking up to the turtle, his eyes now full of determination.

"I would like, no that's not right," the rabbit shock his head and tried again. "I _need_ to tell you something."

Now the calm that Leo had felt before was replaced with a sudden sense of fear and uncertainty. What had happened? Was his friend hurt in some way? Had he done something wrong? Did Usagi figure out his feelings? There were too many possibilities going through the turtles head but he knew he had to say something.

"Go ahead."

"Very well. Leonardo- _san_ , we have known each other for several years now. I believe it's been four years since we met at the Battle Nexus."

Leo nodded in affirmation.

"And in that time, we have faced several great challenges together and many dangerous foes. I do not believe I am alone in saying that when we fight together we are indomitable."

After this the rabbit reached up to touch the turtle's uninjured shoulder. The touch was comforting, he had always enjoyed the sensation of people touching his shoulder, and somehow helped him stay grounded and focused on what Usagi had to say.

"You have become one of my greatest friends in any realm, who has proved to be someone who I can trust with both my life and to respect my code of honour as a warrior. That is why, Leonardo."

The turtle gulped, praying that his heart would not explode in his chest.

"I would like to formally ask to court you, if that would be acceptable."

Leonardo blinked. And then he blinked again processing everything that Usagi had just said.

"Really? You, want to court me?"

"Yes, if that is acceptable to you of course. I heard from your brothers that courtship based on romantic interests between men are accepted where you are from."

And then Leo began to realize something: Usagi was looking very much like he had felt a few moments ago. Anxious, afraid, embarrassed and shy, but overall full of hope. The rabbit had removed his hand from the turtle's shoulder to absently run a hand on the back of his head, in earnest embarrassment.

"Furthermore, it would not be an issue in this land for I doubt I will become magistrate of my father's land-"

"YES!"

The turtle and rabbit paused at the outburst, both just as surprised as the other.

"Err, that is. Aw shell! Can I try that again?"

"Yes, yes! Go ahead!"

The turtle took a deep breath.

"OK. Usagi, I would love to start courting you."

A huge grin began to develop across the rabbit's face.

"Though," the turtle blathered, "I must admit there is still a lot about me you probably have questions about, and I know it will probably be weird hanging out in my world for more than a week and, I honestly don't know what to do in relationship and-"

"Leonardo."

At the sound of Usagi's voice Leo's tangent ended. The rabbit was smiling fondly again, much like he did earlier that day at the battlefield.

"I believe that we can figure all of this out together. That is what a courtship is for is it not?"

The turtle sighed, feeling all of the stress of the evening melt away.

"You're right. I guess I was getting a little ahead of myself there."

"It is fine my friend. To be honest, I was worried I was rushing ahead myself."

"Really? I don't think so. If anything I was the one being ridiculous"

"Then I suppose we were both over-reacting."

"Heh, I agree with that."

The two looked into each other's eyes, grinning at each other, their hands originally tied in knots of worry not calmly clasping their partner's. After a moment, the rabbit spoke up again.

"May I ask you for another favor Leonardo?"

"What is it?"

"Pull up your mask for me?"

The turtle felt his face flush in slight embarrassment, as he reached behind his head and pulled up his mask with one hand.

"Am I doing this right?" asked Leo.

The rabbit looked the turtle in the eyes and then nodded in affirmation.

"Perfect," the _ronin_ simply stated.

And as they shared their first kiss under that stars that summer night, Leonardo would have to agree.


	4. Orange

**Chapter 4: Orange**

If there's one thing Michelangelo didn't understand it was why anyone could think Wednesdays were awful. As far as he could figure there were tons of great reasons to enjoy the middle of the week, you just had to realize what they were.

For starters, Wednesday meant new comic book day, which meant a day fully devoted to getting the newest issue of your favourite stories. All of those weeks waiting for the conclusion of an epic story arc, for old characters to come back and kick some serious shell, or for the characters to finally confess their undying love for each other, were finally paid off. Heck, Mikey was fine even if the story kept going, because that meant more room for twists and turns as the plot progressed.

Not to mention, since it was Wednesday, it meant that you were halfway done with the week and only had more awesome things to look forward to, like Movie Night, or Dimension Day. And _then_ you get to start over again, looking forward to another new week of awesomeness.

Granted, some Wednesdays could be tough with a long day of Master Splinter's training to look forward to, but it was all worth it to sprawl out on the couch, a soda at your side, with the newest issue in your hands and a whole new world of stories to explore.

And today's Wednesday was, in Mikey's humble opinion, even better because he wasn't alone to enjoy it. His brothers usually did their own thing during the mid-week, which meant they didn't hang around each other while he took over the couch to read his comics. This week however he was hanging out with two of his favourite people: his boyfriend, Slash, and Klunk, his pet cat. Slash was sitting behind Mikey, being the big spoon to Mikey's little spoon as they sat across the couch, while Klunk was currently dozing away on Mikey's lap, making cute little cat snores and looking content as could be. The spell of relaxation soon ended, as Mikey finished reading the last page of this month's "Justice Force (Vol. 2)" and gave a deep sigh. His partner, who had been reading his own book, looked over from the pages and down to the smaller turtle.

"To be continued?"

Mikey turned his head so that he could look up at the snapping turtle.

"Uh-huh."

"But, it was still a good book?"

"Heck yeah! It was a great book. I just wish we were able to find out what Chrysalis's big plan is; they said she had a plan in the book preview."

"Hmm, maybe they ran out of time?"

The smaller turtle shrugged.

"I guess. How's your book? You've been awfully quiet about it recently."

"Oh, it's good. I just wish the author would get on with the story; if I have to read one more tangent about mountain ranges I think I'm going to scream."

"HA! That's what you get for reading Tolkien, dude."

The snapping turtle rolled his eyes.

"Yes, yes, oh great and wise Michelangelo. I will never doubt your supreme knowledge of geek culture ever again."

"Yeah," Mikey said with a cheeky grin, "I am pretty amazing. Right Klunk?"

The orange cat had begun to wake up from the noise that the turtles had been making. After she stepped away from her owner's lap the cat and stretched, she gazed up to the orange masked turtle and gave a sleepy meow in response.

"Yep, even Klunk agrees!" exclaimed Mikey and began to scratch his cat behind the ears.

The snapping turtle just smiled fondly, watching the scene before him. Before he met the other turtles, Slash had always assumed that he would always be alone. But sitting here, watching his boyfriend, and surrounded by the acceptance and love of his partner's family, Slash knew what it meant to be loved and to be wanted.

"Hey, Mike?"

The smaller turtle looked up from scratching Klunk behind the ears.

"Yeah Slash?"

"Can you pull up your mask for me?"

At this question Mikey turned from his position on couch so that he could face Slash easier. He could tell his partner looked slightly embarrassed.

"Sure dude, what's up?"

At the question, Slash began to rub the back of his head.

"Nothing, really. I just, I dunno, I suddenly wanted to see your eyes. Is that OK?"

At this answer Mikey blinked and then a huge, devious, smile grew on his face. Slash knew what that smile meant.

"Mike don't you dare."

But the turtle already spoke, in a manner that would have suggested sultry if it wasn't spoken in such a ridiculous tone.

"I'll show you mine if you show me yours".

The snapping turtle groaned. Mikey always knew how to work most conversations into a dirty joke, though this one was relatively tame in comparison to some of his more "famous" works.

"Very funny wise guy. But, fine I'll take off my mask too."

Michelangelo whooped in response and proceeded to push up his mask until it was placed on his forehead. He then re-tied the mask so that he had more room to let the mask stay put without slipping off.

"Well? What do you think?"

Slash knew he had looked into Mikey's eyes dozens of times already but every time he did he was still taken aback by his boyfriends brown eyes. He did not understand how humans could disregard brown eyes as often as they did, because Slash found that brown eyes had their own beauty that could range from deep and rich to bright and sparkling.

Mikey's eyes though were more in the latter category being so light they almost looked like his orange headband, but upon closer inspection there was a deeper shade of brown near the pupils. He smiled, his partner's eyes reflected a great deal of his character; he was someone who was bright and bubbly but still some thoughtful and attentive than others gave him credit for.

"You look amazing."

To this response Mikey playfully stuck out his tongue.

"Of course. I'm the pretty one," said Mikey, "Glad I still look good or my reputation would be on the line."

"Oh? We can't have that now can we?"

"Nope! Now come on slowpoke I wanna see you too."

"Alright, one moment."

Slash hated to admit it, but he was rather self-conscious about his appearance. He knew it was ridiculous of course, but old wounds could still run deep. He remembered rather clearly his earlier years, when the most people ever did when they looked at him was the run away and scream for help. Michelangelo had become an exception to this rule, by being the first person to walk towards him and asked him if he needed help. From that day forward everything changed in Slash's life; he finally knew what it meant to belong, what it meant to be cared for, and what it meant to be loved.

The snapping turtle pushed up his own black mask, he adopted the cloth after he had been officially accepted by Splinter as a member of the ever-growing Hamato clan, and then looked down towards his partner. Mikey shifted in his spot until he could lean forward and get a better view of Slash's eyes. The turtle broke into a huge grin.

"Now that's what I like to see."

"And what's that?"

"Relaxation. I love it when you look chilled out dude."

Slash blinked at this comment, and then broke into a huge grin of his own and then wrapped his arms around the smaller turtle in an embrace.

"Me too Mike."

The smaller turtle chuckled and returned the hug.

"Told you Wednesday's could be awesome."

From the other side of the couch Klunk let out an affirmative "meow", as if in agreement. The turtles just sat together and laughed.


End file.
